Name Kushalnagar after British officer, demands Codava National Council
Madikeri, June 29: Codava National Council president N U Nachappa urged the government to name Kushalnagar which reminds Tipu Sultan who was responsible for Devatparambu carnage, after Frazer Town or soldier Kulletira Ponnanna.
Speaking to reporters here on Friday after submitting a memorandum to the deputy commissioner, he said that when Tipu was born, his father Hyder Ali who camped with his army at Dandinapete on the bank of Cauvery, had called the region as Kushalnagar. The Persian word ‘Kush’ means, celebration. So as the Kushalnagar would remind Tipu Sultan, the government should rename the place as Frazer Town or Kulletira Ponnanna, he demanded.
The place was named after JS Frazer who ended the ruling of dynasty to uphold the self respect of Codava tribals and passed an Act banning the cow slaughter in 1835 for the first time in the country. But when the Mysuru state was merged with Karnataka in 1956, Frazer Pete was renamed as Kushalnagar. If the government was not ready to rename Kushalnagar after the British officer, it could think of naming it after Codava army commander Kulletira Ponnanna who chased the army of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan who were attacking Kodagu, he demanded.
Welcoming the renaming of Aurangzeb and Akbar roads in New Delhi after Dr Abdul Kalam road and Maharana Pratap road respectively by the Narendra Modi government, he said that the government should change the names which remind the misdeeds of Tipu Sultan, he said.
The memorandum was sent to President Ramnath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others. If the name was not changed, the Council would continue its peaceful protest, he said.
Kaliyanda Prakash, Mukonda Dilip, Mandapanda Manoj, Kiriyada Sharein, Chambanda Janath and Areyada Girish were present while submitting the memorandum.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Consumers feeling the heat of rising tender coconut prices in Karnataka
Bengaluru: The cost of tender coconuts has skyrocketed in Karnataka, with retail prices now ranging between Rs 50 and Rs 60 per coconut. In parts of North India, prices have even touched Rs 80 to Rs 100. This price hike is reportedly attributed to a combination of extreme temperatures in Northern India and lower yields in Karnataka, which has been facing its own heatwave.
Maddur, the largest market for tender coconuts in India, has seen average wholesale prices fluctuating between Rs 38 and Rs 50 per coconut over the past three months. Retail prices are higher and depend upon distance from key markets such as Davangere, Tumakuru, Mandya, Hassan, and others as reported by Deccan Herald on Saturday.
During June and July of this year, tender coconuts were available for around Rs 35 in Karnataka, the country's leading coconut producer. However, prices have spiked due to a variety of factors. According to the state government's online agriculture marketing information website, Krishi Marata Vahini, wholesale prices have risen by at least Rs 10,000 per 1,000 coconuts compared to last year.
V. Rajannab, Deputy Director of the Tumakuru APMC Yard, attributed the supply disruption to the "heatwave conditions of the summer of 2024," explaining that farmers could harvest only 30% to 40% of their expected yield. He told the news outlet that the increased demand from North Indian states has further driven up prices in the local market. Nearly 60% of Karnataka's tender coconuts are shipped to North India, with states like Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat now seeking supplies, he added.
Officials from the horticulture department have suggested that the high price of ball copra could also have impacted the supply of tender coconut. “The price of ball copra has more than doubled in the last three months, going from Rs 8,000 to Rs 18,000 a tonne. There is a general feeling that the price could go further high, which is why most of the farmers are not harvesting tender coconuts,” Horticulture Deputy Director Kadiregowda was quoted as saying by DH.
However, there is some hope for price relief in the near future. With copious rains this monsoon, the yield is anticipated to improve, which could further help stabilise the market and bring prices down in the coming weeks.
